01:53 - 31.10.06
Questions
First day of caring for the one grand-daughter. I was at the bus stop by 6:30 in the am, dear diary. That is the earliest bus out nearest my home. The bus was loaded and people were talking with each other cheerily in spite or because of, the weather. Another more than - 20 C start to the day. For comfort, I invoked that one principal's theory that being out in very cold weather kills any germs that might be hiding in one's respiratory tract waiting to strike. Sounded good at the time anyway.
Got downtown quickly enough, then did my banking before catching the connector bus south. Bad move. I ended up standing on a very windy and cold corner of the wind tunnel, formerly known as 6th Avenue, watching four out-of-service busses for the route I wanted, along with several other feeder bus services, zip by. Even the one out-of-town commuter service dropped it's patrons off before I actually saw a bus that I could take. It wasn't until I crawled into bed late this evening to have a quick nap that I actually felt warm again. That doesn't happen too often. It was the wind, not the temperature, that did the damage. I had worn several layers of clothing, but by the time that bus arrived the wind had cut through all of them. Brrrr.
My son was waiting for me when I arrived, after a brisk walk from the drop off point to their home. The bus had been jammed with students on their way to various institutions of higher learning on that particular route, so I hadn't really noticed the time go by because the people watching was so interesting. The variety of clothes was just the start of the entertainment. One could choose to listen to just about any type of weekend warrior story one wished - or not. The roads were much better today, but there were still a lot of unshoveled sidewalks that made walking the few blocks over an adventure. After a bit of a briefing on my grand-daughter's usual schedule and another brief lesson on how to use the VCR and DVD players - with significant steps left unsaid - he left for his job. My daughter-in-law had already begun her day at her new job. Up first was tea for me and breakfast for the young lady. She is a very easy going personality. We sang, we danced, we climbed up the stairs and down again. I read the first chapter of the Philosopher's Stone to her while she bounced in her walker, playing with her favorite toys. When she went for her nap Grandma followed suit. There is a small foamy in the room next to hers where the computer is set up. I was beat already, you see. Woke up just before the end of her nap time and read a lot of my email before spending the afternoon in a similar manner to the morning. Chapter two of the book brought us to the meeting of Harry and the python at the zoo. My granddaughter devoured her afternoon snack while she listened.
Just after my daughter-in-law should have arrived home the phone rang. She was calling to say that she had been held up with month end work and was just leaving now. My grandaughter was starting to fuss because she could hear her mom's voice, but couldn't understand where the rest of her might be. Jollied her over that, but otherwise she was a happy little soul the rest of the time. It was after the dinner hour when my son and daughter-in-law walked in the door. My son had offered to drive me home, which saved me a two hour jaunt, but he wanted to eat dinner first. He played with his daughter and fed her supper, while my daughter-in-law whipped up our supper. I wasn't allowed to assist with either, so I ended up chatting about family matters with my daughter-in-law instead. She had a lot of questions about various things that seemed to have been at the back of her mind for a while. Left after a delicious meal. My son and I chatted about music and such on the way home. Arrived after 9 pm. 15 hours altogether. I'd forgotten how tired one can get after that length of time away from home. My granddaughter is easy to please, but she isn't mobile yet. Carrying her between three floors for our various play and routine activities is quite a workout. Good for me - right?
My youngest had had an enjoyable day off, with just the cats for company. He was quite pleased with that arrangement. He had ordered Chinese food to celebrate my return, but had, of course, already eaten by the time I sashayed in the door. Those cats weren't talking to me until I crawled into bed, but I guess that's to be expected. Imagine deserting them for a whole day and coming home smelling of b-a-b-y. I checked my Elections Canada email and found a very nice response from the one co-worker in Ottawa who looks after the outreach program. I had emailed explaining the delay with one of the assignments - the one that each of my outreach workers is required to do. They aren't on retainer, so even though they get paid for a set amount of time, none of them can drop their regular duties for a six week round of 15 hour per week employment at some future nebulous time. He understood that, so I was relieved. The local rep was silent on the issue, but that's fine too.
With respect to his school work, my youngest and I got to discussing the difference between the Canadian Prime Minister - Pierre Elliot Trudeau - who handled the October 1970 terrorist attacks by Quebec separatists and the current government who have, and are continuing to try, invoking sweeping removal of civil rights protections and legislation for private citizens by suspending or revoking the protections that were put in place after that national crisis 36 years ago. At that time, the invocation of the War Measures Act and the total suspension of civil liberties for all Canadians under martial law, was extremely controversial. The length of time the government operated under that premise was the issue. Many felt it was too long and draconian. It was hotly debated among political pundits for the next decade. That action was sustained for a total length of two weeks, where people were detained without recourse to any form af judicial protection. Next up in the discussion was the uprising of the aboriginal community at Oka Quebec in 1990. Again martial law was invoked, but only for that region, for a period of six weeks. Again there was an outcry and questioning of the suspension of civil liberties - even locally - at the time. One of the reporters I knew very well serendipitously happened to be present on holidays and ended up reporting the event to local newspapers here. Afterward he said it changed his whole way of thinking about government in general. He was allowed inside the war zone and spoke extensively with both sides. His take on it was that the provincial government of the day reacted with a very heavy hand to a crisis that had been precipitated by another level of government who refused to respect long standing treaty rights resulting in the defilement of sacred ground. The federal government sent in Canadian soldiers at the request of the provincial government, but stood down to allow the conflict to be negotiated locally. Now we are faced with a government that is trying to make much of the old War Measures Act a permanent feature of the political landscape for events that didn't even occur on our own soil. Each of the incidents had their own special set of driving factors at the time, but is the loss of so much freedom for individual citizens justified in the current situation. It is a good question and maybe one that should be debated in more places than high school classrooms right now.
Anyway time for bed. Good night dear diary.
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